JASON YORK, QMI Agency

OTTAWA - The approach of the holiday season is often a dangerous time for NHL teams, as players can get a little unfocused and slip into mediocrity without knowing it.

Family comes to visit, players can get distracted and it’s a time during the long 82-game schedule that players see a little break in the schedule coming up and mentally sometimes take the foot off the gas a little.

The NHL lifestyle is, in a lot of ways, very similar to people who go to work every day at the office — you see the same people and as fun as playing pro hockey can be, the environment can get stale after a while.

The reason every guy on every NHL team has a nickname is to spice up the environment, make things fun.

You don’t take weekends off in the NHL, so imagine guys going to the rink every day and saying: “Hello, Christopher, nice to see you” or “How’s it going, Daniel, how’s the family?”

That would be horrible.

In the NHL — as bad as some of the nicknames can be — it adds a little pizzazz to seeing the same guys everyday, and honestly Alfie and Philly sounds much better than Daniel and Christopher.

Obviously, a team with great nicknames doesn’t always have the most success, but a team that can avoid slipping in to a lull, especially around the Christmas break, can gain a lot of momentum on the rest of league.

One of the best ways to spark a dressing room and avoid that lull is to make a trade.

Since the Senators shipped David Rundblad and a second-round pick to Phoenix for Kyle Turris, they had taken 20 of a possible 24 points heading into Saturday night’s game vs. the Canadiens in Montreal.

The Senators took a major step forward and Turris has been getting better and better each game, especially Thursday night in New York when the Senators made a statement to rest of the NHL that they are for real with a 3-0 win over the Rangers.

Even though he didn’t factor in on the scoresheet, Turris was explosive and dangerous all night, creating space for Ottawa’s other three lines.

What Rundblad is going to be in the NHL won’t be known for at least a year or two, but I do know the trade for Turris has brought a spark to the Senators.

Turris’ confidence is growing and, at 22, he will continue to develop and mature.

If his first 12 games are any indication of what’s to come, Turris looks to have a very bright future.